Death in Elfen Lied
Death is the final fact of all existence, the last obstacle which all must face, and none can overcome. Before death, all are equal, for all must cross the river with him when he comes for them. This is true in the real world, and the world of Elfen Lied alike. Even if a select few temporarily escape death's embrace in Elfen Lied's series of events, the passage into the abyss and the world beyond is inevitable. In this series, the end is often a brutal one, where peace is but a wish. It is difficult, if not impossible, to find a peaceful death in Elfen Lied, and it is similarly so for any death which is not painful, often in the extreme. This article, which by definition, will include full and massive spoilers, has as its purpose listing the deaths and methods of same depicted in the series, chapter by chapter and then episode by episode. Deaths in Manga Chapters *[[Elf|'Chapter 1']] - Guard named as Murakami (depicted in flashback as leaving a pen inside Lucy's vector range); Sasaki (mentioned by Murakami, potentially an earlier casualty; death unseen, but likely died of having a pen shot through his head); unnamed Guard 1 (arm ripped off and then decapitated when his cell-phone falls into Lucy's zone); Unnamed Guard 2 (decapitated by Lucy after getting the keys to her lock-up from the first guard); Two guards watching the doors of Lucy's transport elevator (presumed dead; deaths not depicted; Kisaragi (decapitated by Lucy while being held hostage); Guard 3 (head impaled by Kisaragi's pen); Guard 4 (heart torn out when attempting to attack Lucy); 3 and 4's (bodies destroyed by Lucy as intimidation/distraction) *[[Nyu (Chapter)|'Chapter 2']] - N/A *[[SAT (Chapter)|'Chapter 3']] - N/A *[[Loss of Memory|'Chapter 4']] - Satou, death unrevealed, Lucy (fake-out) *[[Self-defense|'Chapter 5']] - Satou (hole blown in torso, right arm ripped off, beheaded by Lucy) *[[Transformation|'Chapter 6']] - N/A *[[Destination|'Chapter 7']] - N/A *[[Yuka's Memories|'Chapter 8']] - N/A *[[Lost Memories|'Chapter 9']] - Kanae (bisected), her and Kouta's Father (beheaded), both in flashback, killer unseen *[[A Sudden Visitor|'Chapter 10']] - N/A *[[Female Visitor|'Chapter 11']] - N/A *[[Messenger|'Chapter 12']] - N/A *[[One Strike|'Chapter 13']] - N/A *[[Clash|'Chapter 14']] - N/A *[[Reinforcements|'Chapter 15']] - Nana (beheaded; fake-out, turns out to be in Lucy's imagined preconception) *[[Thus the Girl Died|'Chapter 16']] - N/A *[[Father of a New Race|'Chapter 17']] - Riot Police mention the death of a man named Kidou, possibly one of the unnamed guards who died by Lucy's hands in Chapter 1 *[[The Girl's Past|'Chapter 18']] - Mayu, wading into the ocean, perhaps contemplating suicide before meeting Wanta (Flashback) *[[Living Together|'Chapter 19']] - N/A *[[Meet Again|'Chapter 20']] - N/A *[[Offspring|'Chapter 21']] - N/A *[[Prosperity or Death|'Chapter 22']] - N/A *[[Teacher of Horns|'Chapter 23' ]]- N/A *[[Nyuu Caught|'Chapter 24']] - N/A *[[Ditched|'Chapter 25']] - N/A *[[Lebensborn|'Chapter 26']] - Professor Kakuzawa (beheaded by Lucy) *[[The One Who Has Freedom|'Chapter 27']] - Passerby woman on street (collapses after Lucy's vector passes into her head, unclear if this is a confirmed death or her simply losing consciousness) *[[Modification Surgery|'Chapter 28']] - Nervous passerby woman (similar to woman of previous chapter) *[[Connection|'Chapter 29']] - N/A *[[Knot|'Chapter 30']] - N/A *[[Detection|'Chapter 31']] - N/A *[[Nyuu's Past|'Chapter 32']] - Lucy's puppy (beaten to death by Tomoo); Tomoo, his two bully friends, and Orphanage Girl (torn to pieces by an enraged young Lucy's emerging vectors) *[[Promise|'Chapter 33']] - At least two members of a family (killed by Lucy so she could stay in their home) *[[Scream|'Chapter 34']] - N/A *[[Lies|'Chapter 35']] - N/A *[[Whisper|'Chapter 36' ]]- Approximately thirteen festival-goers (upper bodies either severed or exploded by Lucy); one concerned woman (beheaded); Lucy recalling death of Tomoo, Orphanage Girl, the other bullies and her puppy while suffering breakdown *[[Kanae (Chapter)|'Chapter 37']] - Account of prior chapter states twelve total dead at the carnival; Kanae (raised up and ripped in two by Lucy, somewhat obscured) *[[Flashback|'Chapter 38']] - Kanae, bisected by Lucy, shown in full; Kouta and Kanae's Father, beheaded by Lucy as he charges at her to avenge Kanae's death *[[Disposal Order|'Chapter 39' ]]- Kanae and Father's deaths recalled multiple times in memories then repressed by Kouta *[[Parting|'Chapter 40']] - Nana (lethal injection; fake-out) *[[Attack Pretext|'Chapter 41']] - N/A *[[On The Run With Common Front|'Chapter 42' ]]- N/A *[[What Shan't Be Seen|'Chapter 43' ]]- Arakawa (shot by Chief Kakuzawa; fake-out) *[[Peeing|'Chapter 44']] - N/A *[[Hide and Seek|'Chapter 45']] - N/A *[[The Project|'Chapter 46' ]]- N/A *[[Contact|'Chapter 47']] - N/A *[[Panic in Maple Inn|'Chapter 48']] - N/A *[[Unforeseen|'Chapter 49']] - N/A *[[Copying Kanae|'Chapter 50']] - Nyu (Fake-out suicide attempt, revealed to be her just cutting her hair) *[[Tears|'Chapter 51']] - Yuka (arguable contemplation of suicide at shoreline) *[[Kurama's Daughter|'Chapter 52']] - N/A *[[Ways, Choices|'Chapter 53']] - Saito (cut in half by Mariko, her upper half tossed through a glass observation window before expiring; Guard/Technician in observation room, perhaps unconscious, perhaps killed by the impact from Saito's torso) *[[Sand Castles|'Chapter 54']] - Nana (crucified by yen notes in dream sequence) *[[Mariko (Chapter)|'Chapter 55']] - N/A *[[Girl's Fun|'Chapter 56']] - N/A *[[Papa for Two|'Chapter 57']] - Nana (beheaded by Mariko; fakeout, as Mariko is only imagining the result of her vector attack, only to realize Nana has disabled them, same as Lucy in Chapter 15) *[[Lab's White Walls|'Chapter 58' ]]- N/A *[[Tests on the Living|'Chapter 59']] - Male victim of Ambush Diclonius (beheaded and head placed in the basket of a child's tricycle; Arriving police mark it as the third such incident that evening); SWAT team member (beheaded by Ambush Diclonius when she fakes a crying jag); Second SWAT member (arm ripped off by vectors, survival unknown); Ambush Diclonius (shot to death by police; Woman in street (killed by having her head's blood vessels manipulated by younger Lucy; according to text, this time period of Kurama's early service at the DRI is four years after the first documented appearance of horned girls) *[[The Annunciation|'Chapter 60']] - Security Guard (beheaded by Number 3 while discharging his weapon) questionable survival/likely death of the accompanying technician (pummeled in the face by the guard's severed head, blood and face muscles being pushed back visible-from dialogue by Number 3); Scientist/Technician (lying on the ground near Number 3 when Kurama and Oomori open the operations room door, his head in a pool of blood, likely dead); Number 3 (back of head blown off/out by Professor Kakuzawa using an assault rifle); Kurama and Hiromi's previous effort at having a child (miscarriage) *[[Final Choice|'Chapter 61']] - Diclonius infants (euthanized at birth by Kurama, including Oomori's daughter) *[[Deeply Held Resentment|'Chapter 62']] - N/A *[[Grin|'Chapter 63']] - Isobe (beheaded by Mariko after she severed his arm and tricked the bomb-reset code out of him) *[[Blaze of Glory|'Chapter 64']] - Kurama and Mariko (crushed by guided missile; fake-out) *[[Midway to Heaven|'Chapter 65']] - Mariko (seemingly killed by second missile strike while Kurama survived) *[[Humanity's Fall|'Chapter 66']] - N/A *[[Backup Measure|'Chapter 67']] - N/A *[[The Heart and the Uterus|'Chapter 68']] - Recollection of Kisaragi's death; possible foreshadowing of a past one not yet revealed in-story *[[Isolation|'Chapter 69']] - N/A *[[Heartbreak|'Chapter 70']] - Recollection of Kisaragi; Shirakawa (beheaded by Lucy); Multiple soldiers (their bodies cut in half or burst open by Lucy's vectors) *[[Wish Upon Tomorrow|'Chapter 71']] - Mariko (Beheaded by Lucy, just prior to her bombs' detonation), Kurama (Implied suicide attempt, ultimately failed) *[[Anna (Chapter)|'Chapter 72']] - Mariko's death, seen again in Nana's nightmares *[[What are you Searching For?|'Chapter 73']] - Recollection of Professor Kakuzawa's death by Arakawa and Kouta *[[God of Death|'Chapter 74']] - Number 28, killed by Unknown Man in a fit of rage over not finding Lucy *[[Animal Scent|'Chapter 75']] - Wanta (Fake-out) *[[Another Happy Future|'Special 1']] - Nozomi's mother (suicide of unknown method) *[[To Drink Or To Be Drunk|'Special 2']] - Kouta and Yuka when Lucy awakens (possibly but unlikely; story is of unclear canon status) *[[An Unachievable Retribution|'Chapter 76']] - Unknown Man, beheaded by Lucy and his head used as a projectile against Bando *[[Can Life Merely Be Despair?|'Chapter 77']] - Mayu (cut in half by Lucy; fake-out) *[[Boy Meets Girl|'Chapter 78']] - Bando (cut in half while blocking Lucy's attempt to kill Mayu; death seemingly final) *[[Helpless|'Chapter 79']] - Unknown number of Clone Diclonii (killed and their nervous systems harvested by Nousou, their skeletal upper torsos on display on an assembly line, directed by Nousou) *[[My Creations|'Chapter 80']] - Diana (stabbed herself in the heart on orders of Nousou and Chief Kakuzawa, revealed to soon receive a transplanted heart, possibly from one of the failed clones; presumably, whichever clones were chosen for her transplant/attempts) *[[Communication|'Chapter 81']] - N/A *[[Outcome|'Chapter 82']] - N/A *[[Reminiscence|'Chapter 83' ]]- Several SAT troops plus Mariko clone Cynthia (all chopped in half by an out-of-control Nyuu after she witnessed the Agent shooting Kouta); Wanta (possible fake-out when he is kicked away by a trooper) *[[Broken Angel|'Chapter 84']] - Entire crew of two assault helicopters downed by Lucy (by crash impact or burning); Alicia (shot repeatedly, then dismembered by Lucy via thrown objects, a rock taking one arm and one leg, and then finally beheaded by a stone lantern cover); Nousou and Barbara (crushed under the fallen helicopter; fake-out) *[[Family|'Chapter 85']] - Cynthia (slowly dying since being chopped in half by Nyuu, expires in the arms of Kurama); Woman in flashback (killed when Lucy induces a heart attack as she passes by); Description by Professor Kakuzawa of more than 200 deaths by circulatory failure/events in the Kamakura area since Lucy has been active; Recollection of police officer beheaded by Ambush Diclonius; Recollection of woman given stroke by Lucy; Recollection of more than ten people bisected by Lucy at Festival; Recollection of Kouta on train after murders of his family; Recollection of Orphanage Girl as a taunting specter; Aiko Takada's father, killed when his slashing of her painting is knocked off target; Recollection of orphanage slaughter by Lucy; Aiko Takada (shot by Kurama when she jumped in front of Lucy); two or more police officers (crushed by floor torn out by Lucy) *[[The Insincere Night Sky|'Chapter 86' ]]- Historical description of persecution of Original Diclonii; Historical description of short lives of mutant ancestors of the Kakuzawas (mutated by radiation in grotto); Recollection by Nousou of Alicia's death and harvesting of Clone Diclonii; Nurse and Nousou (beheaded by Barbara) *[[The Palm|'Chapter 87']] - Recollection of Puppy's death *[[Memories and Gunshots|'Chapter 88']] - Nana (near-fake-out just prior to Kurama killing Barbara, possibly with her acceptance) *[[Death Maze|'Chapter 89']] - With the sole exception of Arakawa, every single remaining member of the staff of the Diclonius Research Institute (slaughtered to a one by the escaping Clone Diclonii; beheaded, bisected, shot down while escaping); At least six clones (bisected and beheaded by Diana defending Arakawa) *[[Unexpected|'Chapter 90' ]]- N/A *[[Stupidity|'Chapter 91']] - Chief Kakuzawa and his son, both beheaded by Lucy. *[[Bewilderment and the Sea|'Chapter 92']] - Naval officer on board one of the ships transporting the Vector Attack Crafts (shot by an agent of the Saseba agent); crew of the Imai and Arii ships (most likely by drowning due to ships capsizing); possibly the crew of the Hasegawa ship due to the ship taking on water *[[Lack of Communication|'Chapter 93']] - Numerous Clone Diclonii (shot by the Agent with pike balls laced with neurotoxin, then a heavy caliber gun with Tungsten bullets) *[[The Researcher's Pride|'Chapter 94']] - Numerous Clone Diclonii (some shot the Agent with pike balls laced with neurotoxin, most others sliced in half by Diana); Diana (beheaded by one of the Clone Diclonii); the Agent (seemingly sliced apart by the remaining Clone Diclonii); pilots of the helicopter Arakawa intended to use to escape the island *[[Tears Shed for Others|'Chapter 95']] - Several Clone Diclonii (bodies torn apart by the Vector Attack Craft) *[[Everyone's Hell|'Chapter 96']] - Large numbers of Clone Diclonii (torn apart by Vector Attack Craft as Arakawa retrieves the vaccine) *[[Dawn of the Long Night|'Chapter 97']] - Clone Diclonii and any remaining living personnel of the Diclonius Research Institute (drowned as the island sinks from Lucy's power) *[[The Ocean to the Past|'Chapter 98']] - Kouta brings up the topic of his sister and father's deaths *[[Memories That Can't Be Killed|'Chapter 99']] - Same as above; Lucy (threat of death via Kurama pointing a gun at her head) *[[Wish on a Star|'Chapter 100']] - Kurama's recollection of Kisaragi and Mariko's deaths at Lucy's hands; Lucy (shot in the head by Kurama; fake-out since the bullet only grazes her head due to The Voice's interference/taking control of her body) *[[Light of Death|'Chapter 101']] - Lucy recalls Aiko's death as Kouta is shot by Kurama; seemingly Lucy, Kouta, and Kurama as an explosion rocks the Sea Candle *[[Center and Fringe|'Chapter 102']] - Untold numbers, possibly hundreds or thousands of people in the Kamakura area (Lucy's vectors break through and crumble entire buildings, making them fall onto civilians below); possibly thousands to millions of people if her vectors stretched further than Kamakura (assumed but not directly shown) *[[The Elf Sings|'Chapter 103']] - Three fighter pilots (killed in their cockpits by Lucy's vectors or by their jets exploding from her vectors hitting them); crew of one of the ships in the First Escort Fleet (ship pierced by Lucy's vectors) *[[The End of a Dream|'Chapter 104']] - Thousands in Kamakura area (parts of the city and many buildings are burning to the ground); possibly thousands to millions of people (similar case as in Kamakura; assumed but not directly shown) *[[Why|'Chapter 105']] - Saseba Operatives and a platoon of SAT troops (all sliced to pieces by the DNA Voice after she possesses Lucy's body); possibly several people (number unknown, ranging in the thousands to the millions) killed as the Voice attempts to destroy the entire planet *[[If Someday|'Chapter 106']] - Lucy/Nyuu/The Voice (shot by Kouta after body melts due to strain from overusing vectors) *[[Conclusion|'Chapter 107']] - Implied billions of people based on Kouta's account (the entire diclonius species and a large number of humanity, to the point of being driven close to extinction) *[[Elfen Lied Special Side Story (Bonus Story)|'Blu-Ray Box Set Special Side Story']] - N/A Deaths in Anime Episodes *[[A Chance Encounter ~ Begegnung|'Episode 1']] - Unnamed guards in Lucy's containment chamber (killed via dismemberment, then beheading); Kisaragi (beheaded); unnamed guards throughout multiple hallways (killed in ways similar or identical to those in Chapter One (see above), with methods including pens shot through temples, others bisected at the waist, one with his heart punched out, and most beheaded); total deceased: 23 (in both English and Japanese dubs) *[[Annihilation ~ Vernichtung|'Episode 2']] - Satou (hole punched in chest, then arm cut off, finally beheaded) * [[Deep Feelings ~ Im Innersten|'Episode 3']] - N/A *[[Attack ~ Aufeinandertreffen|'Episode 4']] - Nana (lethal injection from Kurama; fakeout) *[[Receipt ~ Empfang|'Episode 5']] - Professor Kakuzawa (decapitated by Lucy) *[[Innermost Feelings ~ Herzenswärme|'Episode 6']] - Possibly, one female pedestrian (Lucy's vector goes through the woman's head, but it's not clear if she died or simply passed out) *[[Confrontation ~ Zufällige Begegnung|'Episode 7']] - N/A *[[The Beginning ~ Beginn|'Episode 8']] - Arakawa (blood loss from gunshot wound; fakeout); Lucy's puppy (beaten to death); Tomoo, his friends, and the Orphanage girl (dismembered; all deaths occur in flashback) *[[Reminiscence ~ Schöne Erinnerung|'Episode 9']] - Two families (offscreen; seemingly 3 family members each; one man died of beheading and his family's deaths were vague but possibly dismemberment, and the second man was decapitated and his family killed offscreen); four festival goers within immediate proximity of Lucy (each sliced in half at the waist), plus one woman she beheaded when she tried to help her *[[Infant ~ Säugling|'Episode 10']] - Family of Ambush Diclonius (offscreen save for her assumed father, who was decapitated), policemen killed by her (one decapitated, another sliced in half at the waist after having his arms cut off), the Ambush Diclonius herself (gunshot wounds); boy (decapitated by Demonstration Diclonius); two guards and a scientist (all decapitated by Silpelit #3); Silpelit #3 (shot in the head by Professor Kakuzawa with an armor-piercing bullet); Oomori's infant Diclonius daughter, plus countless other Diclonius infants (offscreen; killed by Kurama, presumably through asphyxiation); Hiromi Kurama (blood loss following stress-related complications from emergency uterine removal surgery and Kurama attempting to kill their daughter) *[[Complication ~ Vermischung|'Episode 11']] - Saito (body torn apart by Mariko, but remained alive for several minutes afterward) *[[Quagmire ~ Taumeln|'Episode 12']] - Shirakawa (sliced in half at waist); approximately 14 SAT soldiers and commander (ripped to shreds); in flashback: Kanae (sliced in half at waist) and Kouta's father (decapitated), both killed by Lucy; two unnamed guards (killed by Mariko when her vectors returned) *[[No Return ~ Erleuchtung|'Episode 13']] - Kurama and Mariko (both killed as Mariko's bombs detonated); unnamed soldier guarding Lucy's then unconscious body (decapitation); Isobe (decapitated by Lucy when he tried to kill Nana); Lucy (shot to death by SAT soldiers; unconfirmed, and she is implied to have survived) *[[Rainstorm ~ Regenschauer|'Episode 10.5/14/OVA' ]]- Aiko Takada (shot in the chest; supposed deceased); Aiko Takada's father (offscreen; detailed in manga chapter 85) Dismemberment Admin's Note: Since most instances of dismemberment in-series were swiftly followed by death, these listings are strictly for those that were not. Manga * [[Transformation|'Chapter 6']] - Bando (left arm broken, right arm cut off at forearm, eyes gouged out by Lucy) * [[Clash|'Chapter 14']] - Nana (all four limbs cut off by Lucy) * [[Ways, Choices|'Chapter 53']] - Mariko (bomb in her right arm detonated by a dying Saito) * [[Boy Meets Girl|'Chapter 78']] - Bando (body torn in half at the waist by Lucy; Conclusion reveals the death is a fakeout) * [[Wish on a Star|'Chapter 100']] - Kurama (left arm completely torn off by Lucy's DNA Voice as it took over her body) Anime *[[Annihilation ~ Vernichtung|'Episode 2']] - Bando (left arm broken, right arm cut off at forearm, eyes gouged out by Lucy) * [[Attack ~ Aufeinandertreffen|'Episode 4']] - Nana (all four limbs cut off by Lucy) Category:Essays Category:Series Information Category:Manga Category:Anime Category:Story Related Category:Article